Boeing 777 orders on the cards

Boeing is likely to have a very good next few months for its 777 line.

CAO has learned that that company is probably going to announce several major orders for the airplane, predominately if not entirely for the 777-300ER. One order is said to be for 20 777-300ERs and could be announced within the next few weeks. As many as four major orders are anticipated in the next few months, CAO is told.

This is partly behind the decision announced late last year to increase production from the previously announced 7/mo to 8.3/mo. The current production rate is 5/mo; it goes to 7/mo this summer and 8.3/mo in the first quarter of 2013. CAO understands Boeing wanted to go to 9/mo but the supply chain wasn’t able to commit to the higher rate at this time.

Some Wall Street analysts worried that the 8.3/mo rate is unsustainable given the current backlog, which is 253, or slightly more than three years at the current and summer production rates. The orders in the pipeline would take the backlog well into 2014 and perhaps into 2015, according to our information.

Some analysts note the higher rate slightly precedes the promised entry-into-service of the Airbus A350XWB, now slated for the second half of 2013 and a slip from the first half. Increasing the production rate positions Boeing to potentially take advantage of anticipated EIS delays of the A350; some suppliers believe the delay is going to be one year while Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst for The Teal Group, has been predicting a two year delay for two years.

While the 777 demand reflects a recovering global economy and anticipation of an A350 delay, some orders are going to be placed to provide lift for customers affected by the delays in the Boeing 787 programme, now three years and counting.